Motorcycles and other two wheeled vehicles known in the art employ gyroscopic forces to remain upright when travelling. Consequently these vehicles require support when at a stop, such as an operator holding up the vehicle by placing one foot on the ground. In some circumstances, it may be desirable to have the vehicle remain upright when standing still without having a foot on the ground, such as in rain, or heavy traffic conditions. Another problem encountered with two wheeled vehicles is the tendency for traffic markers, such as reflectors and ceramic domes protruding from the pavement to interrupt smooth travel of the vehicle, particularly when splitting lanes.
Apparatus for adjusting or compensating for gravitational forces against a two-wheeled vehicle, such as a motorcycle, are known in the art. Horiike (U.S. Pat. No. 5,076,388) discloses a vehicle having a sub-frame connected to a main frame of a vehicle. The sub-frame is able to bank around the main frame during cornering using a counterbalancing of centripetal forces and centrifugal forces as a driver makes a turn.
Moog (U.S. Pat. No. 4,200,168) discloses an apparatus for roll-stabilizing a vehicle. A compound physical pendulum is designed to sense any lateral acceleration of a vehicle, and using a rigid dumbbell-shaped member mounted on the upper end of a flexure tube, compensate for inertia. By using gyroscopic action, the dumbbell-shaped member is able to engage the vehicle and counter any overturning movement.
Apparatus for addressing tire performance are also known in the art. Yoshioka (U.S. Pat. No. 6,499,520) discloses a pneumatic tire having a circumferentially and continuously extending wide groove to enhance steering capability. Nakagawa et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 6,505,661) discloses a tire having a tread portion including a groove having longitudinal and lateral ribs to prevent bareness. Matsunaga (U.S. Pat. No. 8,091,598) discloses a tire with multiple grooves extending circumferentially around the motorcycle tire for stability.
The stabilizing apparatus currently disclosed in the art are designed to compensate for gravitational forces while a two-wheeled vehicle is in motion rather than at a standstill. The wheels having grooves disclosed in the prior art are adapted for performance enhancing characteristics or preventing excessive wear on a tire, and none of them present a groove large enough to straddle reflectors or lane dots.
There is therefore a need for a two-wheeled vehicle stabilization device, such as for a motorcycle, that corrects for gravitational forces when the vehicle is at rest. There is also a need for a two-wheeled vehicle tire that avoids protrusions in the pavement from traffic markers and lane dots that would otherwise interrupt smooth travel of the vehicle.